TOP 5 NBA NEWSMAKERS FROM WEDNESDAY 6/30/10 TO TUESDAY 7/6/10

We have many great articles planned leading up to the 2010-2011 Fantasy Basketball season including sleepers, busts, rookies, strategy, full player rankings and projections all wrapped up into a nifty draft kit to help you win your league next year. Below, we analyze the top fantasy basketball news items from the previous week.

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5. Milicic, Darko C MIN signed a 4-year contract

The once laughable bust has apparently found a home in Minnesota. It's a $20 million dollar deal, which is pretty nice for a big man. With more minutes, he should block plenty of shots and rebound well enough. If he can score a consistent 10-12 points per game, he could be a fantasy asset. This is probably the last nail in Al Jefferson's Minnesota coffin, so look for him to be moved soon.

4. Warrick, Hakim PF (CHI) and Frye, Channing C signed with PHO

Warrick signed for $18M over 4 years. Frye re-signed with the Suns ($30M over 5). Warrick is a good rebounder and decent scorer. A 15-10 season with the Suns isn't out of the realm of possibility. Fry should basically do what he did last season.

3. Blake, Steve PG (LAC) signed with LAL

He signed for $16M over four years. He will apparently start, even if they re-sign Derek Fisher. Still, the starting point guard for the Lakers doesn't hold a whole lot of fantasy value. He'll likely only have occasional value in four-game weeks in 12-team leagues for teams that need some spare threes and assists.

2. Gooden, Drew PF (LAC) signed with MIL

Gooden definitely had some good stretches last season. We like the team the Bucks are assembling, adding CDR, Maggette, Gooden, and the rookie Larry Sanders to Bogut, Jennings, Delfino, Ilyasova, and maybe even Salmons if he returns.

1. Stoudemire, Amare PF (PHO) signed with NY

Amare signed a five-year, $100M deal, so he should be in a New York state of mind for a while. The Knicks can keep David Lee at center or deal him. The problem is, Stoudemire isn't much on the defensive end these days. He'll score and rebound, but don't expect much else. It's a similar up-tempo offense to the one he played in out in the desert.

ALSO

Chris Duhon PG (NY) signed with ORL. He'll provide teams in 12-team leagues with some assists off the bench in four-game weeks and probably do okay filling in for Jameer if/when Nelson in injured... Ryan Gomes F POR was released. He'll surely find a nice bench role on another team and be worth using in deeper leagues at some point if injuries in front of him bump his minutes up from 20-25 to 25-35 minutes... Kobe Bryant SG LAL will likely waer a support for his damaged finger this season. That should help, but do be aware that the superstar will likely miss more games than the other superstars, though he'll still likely have another few exceptional seasons before any big age-related deterioration... Joe Johnson SG ATL signed a 6-year, $120M contract to remain with the Hawks. Johnson should approximate last year's numbers... Dirk Nowitzki PF DAL signed a 4-year, $80M contract to remain with the Mavs. This helps the chances of another star player coming to the Big D... Paul Pierce SF BOS signed a 4-year, $61M contract to remain with the Celtics. That should be enough for Ray Allen to return for at least another year... Rudy Gay SF MEM re-signed for $82M over 5 years. Memphis will bring back the same starting five, and Gay should have a good 2010-11 season... John Salmons F/G re-signed with MIL for $39M over 5 years. We really like what the Bucks are doing, retaining Salmons while adding Gooden, Maggette, and CDR. Salmons should do just about as well as he did last year with the Bucks, despite the influx of talent. Go Bucks... Richard Jefferson SF SA also opted out of his contract, but he's all but certain to sign elsewhere... Allen Iverson PG (MEM) says his family is doing well now and he's ready to get back to focusing on basketball. Perhaps he's humble enough to accept a bench role at this point.

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